The West German Government today issued a White Paper reporting 685 anti-Semitic incidents in West Germany last month. The document said no evidence of an organized conspiracy had been found.
The White Paper, covering the incidents sparked by the Christmas Eve smearing of the Cologne synagogue, was published on the eve of a Parliamentary debate on anti-Semitism in West Germany, which will open tomorrow. The document said direct ties between vandals and political groups were found only in eight cases, seven of them involving the German Reichs party.
Among those arrested, the report said, 130 were children under 20, 49 were persons under 30, 38 were under 50, 11 under 60 and six were 60 years old and older. The report said 63 offenders have received fines, detention or jail terms ranging from two to 17 months.
The report said that of the 685 incidents listed up to January 28, 215 were “children’s scribblings.” Seventy-three cases were determined to be politically motivated and of these only about one-fourth were considered “genuinely anti-Semitic.”
The White Paper said most of the incidents were committed by persons who “allowed themselves to be carried away by smoldering political undertones.” In a few cases, a Communist ideological background was uncovered. According to the conclusions drawn, the reaction of sections of the public showed that the overwhelming majority of the German people reject anti-Semitism and are ready to take steps to oppose it.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
